Lesson Three

Sometimes a Vowel, Sometimes a Consonant: <w>

1. Fill in the blank: One letter that is sometimes a vowel and sometimes a consonant is _______. (Did you remember the pointed brackets?)

2. Two other letters that are sometimes vowels and sometimes consonants are <w> and . The letter <w> is usually a consonant. It is a vowel only when it teams up with an , <e>, or <o> to spell a single sound — as in the words draw, few, and low. So the letter <w> is a vowel only in the two-letter teams <aw>, <ew>, and <ow>.

Everywhere else <w> is a consonant: It is a consonant when it spells the sound it does at the front of way. And it is a consonant when it teams up with <r> and <h> — as in write and who.

3. Listen to the sound the <w> is spelling or helping spell in each of these words. Then sort the words into the two groups below:

4. Each word in Column 1 below contains a <w> or a <y>. Sometimes the <w> or <y> is a consonant, sometimes a vowel. Spell each word in Column 1 backwards and you will get a new word. Write these new words in Column 2. Then put a check mark after each word that contains a <w> or <y> that is a vowel. We've given you a start: